Infamous Victory: Ben Chifley's Battle for Coal

Infamous Victory: Ben Chifley's Battle for Coal

2008
52m
0.0

0.0/10

0 votes • View on IMDb
Documentary Drama
Overview

This is a story of coal, communism, and the Australian prime minister who went to war against his own during the national miners' strike of 1949. Using rare archival footage and re-creations, this dramatised documentary shows how Labor Party leader Ben Chifley took on and defeated the growing forces of communism in Australia. The film examines the complex issues that the conflict raised and introduces the major players in the dispute. A former train driver from Bathurst, Chifley was a working-class hero, a Labor Party icon and 'man of the people'. But his actions flew in the face of Labor values and tradition when he believed it was in the interests of post-war Australia. Chifley introduced draconian laws to prevent unions accessing funds to support the strike and sent in the army to replace striking miners-so defeating the Communist Party leadership that controlled the militant union. This is a fascinating era of Australian history rarely seen on screen.

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Status: Released

Language: EN

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Production Information

Production Companies
Screen Australia
Production Countries
Australia
Spoken Languages
English

Keywords

communism australian history australian politics australian prime minister workers strike auspol

Quick Facts

Release Date November 6, 2008
Status Released
Language EN
IMDb ID tt1354549
Website Visit Site

Cast

Tony Barry
Tony Barry

Ben Chifley (Prime Minister)

Tracy Mann
Tracy Mann

Elizabeth Chifley (Ben Chifley’s wife)

Lorna Lesley
Lorna Lesley

Phyllis Donnelly (Prime Minister’s Personal Assistant)

Kieran Darcy-Smith
Kieran Darcy-Smith

Don Rogers (Prime Minister’s Press Secretary)

Russell Kiefel
Russell Kiefel

Lloyd Ross (Prime Minister’s Political Advisor)

Bruce Venables
Bruce Venables

‘Doc’ Evatt (Attorney General and Minister for External Affairs)

Rob Steele
Rob Steele

Cyril Chambers (Minister for Defence)

Frankie J. Holden
Frankie J. Holden

Arthur Calwell (Minister for Immigration)

Stephen Leeder
Stephen Leeder

Justice Reed

Rhys Muldoon
Rhys Muldoon

Edgar Ross (Editor of the Miners Union Newspaper/Committee member for the Australian Communist Party)

Tiriel Mora
Tiriel Mora

Lieutenant General Rowell

Heather Mitchell
Heather Mitchell

Narrator

Key Crew

Perry Stapleton
Producer
Geoff Burton
Director
Bob Ellis
Writer
Geoff Burton
Writer
Penny Robins
Executive Producer
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